Potato Dauphinoise, also known as Gratin Dauphinoise or Pomme Dauphinoise, is a traditional and delicious French potato dish. Made of potatoes that are slowly cooked in cream, the subtle flavors of the potato, butter and a hint of garlic make for a sumptuously rich meal. By thinly slicing your potatoes, assembling the dish in many layers and cooking it slowly, you can make a fantastic dauphinoise.

Ingredients

1 kilogram (35 oz) of potatoes

300 millilitres (10 fl oz) of cream

100 millilitres (3.4 fl oz) of milk

25 grams (0.88 oz) of butter

2 cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon (15 g) of salt

2 teaspoon (5 g) of pepper

1 teaspoon (2 g) of nutmeg

Did you make this recipe?

Steps

Part 1 of 2:

Readying Your Ingredients

1

Peel and slice your potatoes as thinly as you can. Wash your potatoes in cold water and peel them to remove the skin. Place them on a chopping board and use a sharp knife to slice the potatoes as thinly as you can, around 4 millimetres (0.16 in) thick. Set the sliced potatoes aside.

You could also use a mandoline or a food processor with a slicing attachment to slice the potatoes. This will produce neater and more consistent results with less effort.

2

Simmer the cream and milk in a saucepan. Measure out 300 millilitres (10 fl oz) of cream and combine it with 100 millilitres (3.4 fl oz) of milk in a small saucepan. Place it over a low heat and leave it to simmer while you prepare the rest of the dish.

Some recipes will call for different ratios of milk and cream to achieve different results. Use 400 millilitres (14 fl oz) of cream for an even richer dish, or try 200 millilitres (6.8 fl oz) each of milk and cream for something a little simpler.

For extra flavor, simmer your milk and cream with some aromatics. Try adding in some bay leaves, a few whole cloves, or maybe even a cinnamon stick while the mixture simmers for some deeper, albeit non-traditional, flavors.

3

Rub the baking dish with garlic. Peel 1 or 2 cloves of garlic and slice them in half. Use the exposed end of the garlic clove to begin rubbing down a large baking dish, covering the entire surface with garlic. A slight film or sheen should form over the baking dish, imparting a subtle garlic flavor.[1]XResearch source

The baking dish for a serving of this size should be around 13 by 9 inches (33 by 23 cm). Adjust the size of the dish to the number of potatoes you are using, and use only enough garlic to rub down the dish.

While this will only give your dish a slight garlic flavor, you can skip this step if you don’t like the taste of garlic.

4

Grease the dish with butter. Bring roughly 25 grams (0.88 oz) of butter to room temperature. Place it in the baking dish and rub it over the entire surface, applying it generously to grease the dish. Make sure to get the butter into all of the corners and crevices.[2]XResearch source

This will help prevent your potato dauphinoise from sticking to the tray as you go to serve it, as well as adding some extra flavor.

Advertisement

Part 2 of 2:

Assembling the Dauphinois

1

Cover the bottom of the baking dish with milk and cream. Take the simmering milk and cream off of the heat and bring it over to your baking dish. Use a ladle or something similar to scoop up a small amount of it and pour it over the bottom of the dish. Tilt the dish slightly to spread it around.

You only need to make a thin layer on the bottom of the dish. It should be enough for the potatoes to sit on, rather than so much that the potatoes are sitting or floating in it.

2

Layer potato slices in the dish. Starting in one corner, begin placing your potatoes in a line down one side of the dish. They should overlap slightly, with each potato slice covering roughly 1 inch (2.5 cm) of the potato beneath it. Continue working in this method to create several overlapping lines of potato covering the entire dish.[3]XResearch source

It will take some extra time, but placing the potato slices one by one will make for a finished gratin dauphinoise that looks better and cooks more evenly.

3

Season the potatoes with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. With the potatoes in even lines across your baking dish, sprinkle them with a few generous pinches of salt so that they are evenly coated. Repeat the process with a single generous pinch of black pepper, and a small pinch of nutmeg to season your potatoes.

The salt, pepper, and nutmeg will work only to bring out and enhance the flavors of the potato and cream. However, if you particularly do not like any of these, you can leave them out of the recipe.

If you want some extra flavor, try adding a pinch or two of thyme, rosemary, oregano, or even a sprinkle of paprika for a non-traditional dauphinoise with some more complex flavors.

4

Continue layering potatoes and cream to build the dish. Pour another few ladlefuls of milk and cream over the layer of potatoes, again making only a thin layer rather than submerging the potatoes in cream. Use the same method as before to create another layer of potatoes and season them. Repeat this process until you run out of potatoes, or the dish is full.

Finish with a thin layer of milk and cream so that the potatoes are just barely covered.

If you have leftover potatoes that won’t fit into the dish, you can store them in water overnight. Alternately, you could use them to make homemade potato chips![4]XResearch source

Some people like to add a thin layer of cheese over the top of their dauphinoise before cooking it. While this is not traditional, sprinkling a grated cheese of your choice over the potatoes will add some extra richness and flavor. Try adding some gruyere, cheddar, or mozzarella to your dauphinoise.

5

Cook the dauphinoise for 90 to 120 minutes at 150 °C (302 °F). Place the assembled dauphinoise in a 150 °C (302 °F) oven and leave it to cook, uncovered, for around 90 minutes. If the potatoes are easily pierced with a butter knife, the dish has finished cooking and can be taken out of the oven. If not, leave it for another 10 minutes before checking again.[5]XResearch source

The cream and potatoes on top should be a lovely golden-brown color when it is cooked.

Let the dauphinoise cool for an hour before serving. Take the dauphinoise out of the oven and leave it to cool for around 1 hour, or until the sides are cool to the touch. Use a knife to cut an even slice from the dish and transfer it to a plate with a spatula.

You could also use a circular cookie cutter to cut a serving of dauphinoise into an interesting shape to serve it.

Cutting straight lines into the dauphinoise will show off the layers of potato and cream much better. If you’re not worried about presentation, you can scoop the potato out with a serving spoon rather than cutting it.

To make potato dauphinoise, first slice 1 kg of potatoes as thinly as you can using a sharp knife, mandoline, or even a food processor. Once the potatoes are sliced, simmer 300 mL of cream and 100 mL of milk in a saucepan. As that mixture simmers, rub a 13 by 9 inches baking dish with a clove of garlic that has been peeled and sliced in half. Then, grease the dish with room temperature butter. Now that your ingredients are prepared, cover the bottom of the dish with a small amount of milk and cream before layering your potato slices so they overlap slightly. After one layer of potatoes is down, season with sprinkles of salt, pepper, and nutmeg, then continue to layer the cream, potatoes and seasoning until the dish is full. Finally, bake the dauphinoise for 90 to 120 minutes at 150 degrees Celsius and let it cool for an hour before eating. For more tips, like how to add more flavor to your milk and cream, read on!